The First Hunger Games
by Lives-of-Dax
Summary: We all know the stories of how the Hunger Games ended, but how did it begin? How can a nation recovering from one of the bloodiest conflicts in it's history cope with having to place their children in a fight for their lives?


It started with the storms. Great storms that were stronger than predicted and the damage was more than most people could recover from. Then came the economic strain on the nation. Prices on every day goods went up, while wages stayed the same. Businesses felt the strain as well, and they started outsourcing their goods and services out of the country, to foreign lands who charged less in labor as our government would allowed paid to our own people. As industry moved across international borders, people lost jobs. They lost their homes. Families ended up living out in the cold on the street, and the tone from those in their homes, that one percent of the population who was more than able to keep their heads above water, was "There, but for the grace of God goes I."

That was when the media focused on racially related conflicts. Unarmed minorities were being depicted as being killed by the military. People took to the streets, calling out for justice. They didn't want to hear of the crimes committed by their dead, they wanted a radical take down of their government. They wanted to be the ones in power, while they had little to no understanding of the corrupting nature of power. It was when they tried to elect one of their own as president that the war broke out.

In most wars, there are two sides, but this war was split three ways. The Conservative Guard, trying to fight for their peace of mind, as well as for their lands, and their offices. The Liberal Militia, who proclaimed that they fought for the people. Then, there were the civilians, who were caught in the cross fire of it all. This was a bitter war, where brother fought against brother. Child against parent. Families were torn apart for the sake of what each member thought was right.

It was through this war that the nation took on an isolationist ideology. The rest of the world allowed this to happen, because if the US was going to blow itself up, the rest of the world did not want to get thrown into the mix. The nations of Canada and Mexico were evacuated for the safety of their populations. France and the UK welcomed the Canadian citizens back home, while the Central and South American Nations, as well as Spain and Portugal offered passage for the Mexicans. The US was left alone in North America.

Finally, in the end, it was the Liberal Militia who won, but their victory was hard fought, and the balance that everything rested on was a fragile thing. With how horrible the war was, and how bitter things became, the Liberal Militia declared that the Conservative Guard should live the way they insisted on the rest of the nation should live before. In abject poverty, and total inequality.

However, the nation was not the same again after the war. The name was changed from the United States of America to Panem. In this renaming, things were changed with the structure of the nation. There was one Capitol the shining jewel of the nation, surrounded by thirteen districts, each providing something that was vital to the functionality of the nation as a whole.

It was those in the outer districts that the rebellion began. In the North East, District 13's public resource was graphite mining. However, deep within their underground facilities was a darker side of their industry, nuclear weaponry. They were the district who started the bombing, and attacks on the capitol, which had been relocated to a city that had once been called St. Louis. This was the central most location in the nation.

The first bombs were dropped in the dead of night, but the Liberal Leaders were already working on an exit strategy. Since the storms destroyed the East Coast cities, they had been working on fortifying the City of Denver for their new Capitol. With only tunnels through the mountains around it as a way in or out of it. The area above having been declared a no fly zone because of the high winds in the area. It simply wasn't deemed safe anymore. As the first bombs rained down upon St. Louis, the Leaders were already on their way to their new base of operations, ready for the attacks that would come.

When District 13 saw that the leaders had fled their Capitol, they started gaining strength, and support. 12, 11, and 10 quickly fell into line. The four outer Districts had been mistreated by the Capitol since the new structure came into place. Where they were once the affluent, the land owners, they were now those simply struggling to make ends meet now. Before long, the rest of the districts took up arms to fight against the oppression they had been living under. Though, it has to be noted that Districts 1 and 2 were the last to fall in line.

What the districts didn't know was part of the defensive structure was a nuclear arsenal that matched, if not exceeded that of District 13. The Capitol's revenge on District 13 was severe, launching most of their arsenal on the district. When the video feeds came back up in the rest of the Districts, they saw the overwhelming devastation that was left. All that really remained was the exterior of the Hall of Justice. The rest was smoldering rubble.

Without the armaments of District 13 behind them, the rest of the districts fell into line. However, the Capitol's revenge was not quite over. President Chelsea Clinton signed the following into law. "In penance for their uprising each district shall offer up a male and female tribute between the ages of 12 and 18 at a public reaping. These tributes shall be delivered to the custody of the Capitol and then transferred to a public arena where they will fight to the death until a lone victor remains. Henceforth and forever more this pageant shall be known as 'The Hunger Games'."

The morning of the reaping came entirely too soon for some. But, for every citizen in the nation of Panem, this was not a voluntary event. For one day, everyone had the day off of their assigned jobs to watch their children get taken to the slaughter. There is talk from the Capitol that whoever wind this thing will be showered in riches they can't number, but the people are loathe to believe this. After all, they've been lied to before. This treaty from the Capitol was hardly a treaty at all. It was an olive branch, for sure, but no one was happy with the terms of the treaty. At least, no one in the districts were. And these reaping were the biggest insult from it all. But, the penalty was death, or so the people were told. did anyone really want to risk that?

It started in District 1. Everything would start there from here on out. The were located in what was once called Las Vegas, and they were designated to produce luxury items for those in the capitol. After all, other than the victor of this joke of a competition, there would be no one in the districts who would have time for luxury.

The children were lined up, boys to the left, girls to the right, arranged by their school classes. The capitol representative that had been assigned to District 1 stood before the district and said the prepared speech, before she walked over to the glass bowl filled with girls names. With the folded piece of paper in her hand, she moved back to the microphone. She didn't need it, because you could have heard a pin drop in the district, but this wasn't for them. This was for the residents in the capitol, and the districts with later reaping ceremonies so they could all keep in the loop on who had been selected.

"The female tribute for District 1 is… Taylor Bates!" A gasp was heard somewhere in the crowd as people saw just who Taylor was. A thirteen year old girl stepped, shaking, up the steps of the platform. She was dressed in a pale pink dress, with her long brown hair set in a single braid that fell down the middle of her back. She reached the last step before a shout rose from the back of the crowd.

"NO!" The booming voice came in, a man was marching his way op towards the platform. He looked angry. "NOT MY CHIL-"

The crack of a fire arm ripped through the air as the Peace Keeper who had been standing near by took the clear shot before him, dropping Mr. Bates to the ground.

"DADDY! NO!" Taylor screamed out, as she tried to turn and run for her father. But the Peace Keepers stationed close to the stage grasped her, and pulled her back onto the stage. The girl was sobbing as she stood next to the representative from the Capitol. The woman, for her part, tried to comfort the child by placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Now, wasn't that exciting? As the Rules of the Hunger Games state, I can now ask for volunteers from the other ladies in the audience. Do any of you feel brave enough to try and take her place?" Not a single hand raised. Not a single person raised their voice. The only sound that was heard was Taylor's soft sobs. "Well then, take your place, dear. Right over here. There's a girl." She said, gently moving Taylor towards the X marked on the stage.

Her hand shot into the glass bowl filled with the boy's names, and she withdrew a single slip. She strolled slowly back to the microphone, and opened the paper before her. "The male tribute for District 1 is… Steven Buttler."

There was a buzz in the crowd, as a seventeen year old boy, with a thick neck, and broad shoulders. He had short cropped red hair, and the slight stubble of a beard forming on his chin. His jaw set in place, as he took the quick steps up to the platform. He folded his arms over his chest and stared out at the crowd before him.

"Well then." The representative said, clearing her throat as she looked up at Steven's face. She shook her head, and looked out into the crowd. "Will anyone be volunteering for Mr. Buttler?" As was with Taylor, not a single person's hand lifted. The representative nodded her head, and stepped back. "Then, may I present the tributes from District 1, Ms. Taylor Bates, and Mr. Steven Buttler! Now you children shake hands."

Steven took Taylor's hand, and squeezed it hard enough it gave her a new reason to cry. Then, the two of them were ushered into the Justice Building. The feeds of this reaping across the country flickered off as the doors of the building closed. Across the screens in the nation displayed the words "Stay Tuned for the Reaping from District 2."


End file.
